The Pumpkin Seed Massacre (The First Ben Pecos Mystery)

Bouldeer, Coloreado: Intrigue Press, 1999. First Edition First Printing Stated . Hard Back. Near Fine/As New. 6 1/2" X 9 1/2. Gunia, Barb - Jacket Design. 234 Pages. No defects noted. The 22.95 jacket price is NOT clipped.. The series debut of Native-American psychologist Ben Pecos, who returns home to find his Tewa Pueblo in the fatal grip of a mysterious epidemic and his heart falling for a beautiful television reporter there to cover the story. The owl winged noiselessly across the moon's path and settled on a pine bough above his head. He didn't look up. He knew the owl was there and knew its meaning. Death. The Tewa Pueblo outside Albuquerque is Ben Pecos' childhood home and his heritage. But as a child adopted away from his people when his mother died from alcoholism, Ben is new to Indian ways. He has returned to the Pueblo, after graduating from Stanford, to live with his grandmother for a summer while he makes up his mind about his next career move. When several elderly people at the pueblo die, including Ben's grandmother, the authorities don't question too deeply. After all, the church cemetery has just been expanded and Tewa stories say that the new spaces will be filled. But when the governor of the pueblo and several healthy young people suddenly die with the same symptoms, Indian Health Services director Sandy Black calls in the CDC from Atlanta. They set up a lab to test for the cause, and enlist Ben's help in convincing the people to go against Indian tradition and allow autopsies on their family members. Meanwhile, Julie Conlin, a young reporter for Albuquerque's top television station, gets the plum assignment of covering the mystery killer disease. She knows it will be the kind of story that can propel her into an anchor position or perhaps even take her career to the national level, but she also knows she's immensely attracted to the handsome Ben Pecos. Johnson Yepa, the new governor of the pueblo, has other worries on his mind. Financial backers, pushing for a casino on Tewa land, are not happy with him. They want assurances the casino will open with- out a hitch. Johnson just wants his new Cadillac, a boat at the lake, and the occasional favors of a woman named Mollie. Expertly interweaving Indian beliefs and legends with the modem problems facing New Mexico's tribes, Slater brings the richness of an ancient culture to life, along with a complex and puzzling mystery. While an instructor for the University of New Mexico, Susan Slater was the Six Sandoval Director for the All Indian Pueblo Council Teacher Education Program. Yellow Lies. Susan lives in Albuquerque with her husband.